Make Me Hate You

We crossed every line that night- and I went from loving my best friend's brother in secret to wanting nothing more than to love him out loud. 

Kandi Steiner is literally one of the best human beings on the planet. She writes the most amazing stories. She knows how to hook you right from the beginning, and keep you reeled in until the very end. I love the way her words make me feel. A Love Letter To Whiskey has always been, hands down, my favorite Kandi book to date. That's not to discredit her other books, because they are all amazing, but there was just something about the way that book made me feel when I finished, the way I couldn't stop thinking about it, the way I questioned my morals for wanting characters to do awful things because I felt like they should be together. This is exactly how Make Me Hate You made me feel. It's like "Oh, Kandi is back. She's back to writing these books that make you question everything you thought was right and wrong" 

I loved Jasmine immediately. She was struggling with her feelings, and things that had happened in the past, but I liked her honesty. When she made a horrible mistake her first thought wasn't to run from the problem, she faced it head on, and that was admirable to me. I loved that Kandi made her that way. 

The anguish these two felt because of their conflicting feelings was so believable. To love someone when you can't do anything about it is something no one wants to go through. I could feel Jasmine's pain through Kandi's writing, and that's when you know you're reading a great book. 

"It's this thing that never was, but always is, that never will be and will never not be." 

There were some scenes so heartbreaking they literally took my breath away. I found myself rooting for these two people, even though I knew it was wrong. That's one thing Kandi has always been excellent at doing, bringing the pain out in her words. I felt my heart breaking for them like they were friends of mine, or like I was experiencing the heartbreak myself. 

He'd ruined me. Thoroughly and utterly destroyed me in every consumable way. And I had never wanted anything more. 

I also loved that in the middle of all this pain, Kandi could write about this beautiful friendship. I loved that you got this glimpse of this amazing family and their love for Jasmine after everything she'd been through. I was so glad she had these people on her side. 

Kandi really outdid herself with this one, not that i'm surprised at all. She is, hands down, one of my all time favorite authors, favorite people, and the author I send people to if they simply want to feel. She is a master at this, and she just continues to get better with every book. I look forward to reading everything she puts out, and following along on her journey. 

Hands down, 5 STARS. No questions. No hesitations. Another emotional, gut wrenching, angst filled read by the queen herself. 

This isn't effortless love, but it is real love.